Pharmaceutical Sciences – Major

The pharmaceutical sciences program provides a strong basic sciences foundation in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and pharmaceutics; integrates the essential contributions of the humanities, social sciences, and communications; and utilizes laboratory-based courses to develop and refine research skills. The graduate will have the background to understand how physicochemical and pharmaceutical principles are applied in formulation development, manufacturing, and animal and human testing of different types of drug delivery systems.

Learning outcomes:

Students should have the ability to integrate concepts taught in basic courses into their professional courses.

Students should be proficient in basic laboratory skills required by departments of pharmaceutics in the pharmaceutical industry.

Students should be able to electronically retrieve relevant literature from scientific databases.

Students should be able to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing.

The demand for graduates with a degree in the pharmaceutical sciences is presently very high and growing; excellent entry-level positions are available in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, government, specialty dosage form development laboratories, and biotechnology companies. Areas include research, product development, manufacturing, quality control, and regulatory affairs.

Students who excel academically will find the pharmaceutical sciences major to be a unique pre-professional degree for programs in pharmacy, medicine, and law. Alternatively, for these students, pursuit of MS and PhD programs in the pharmaceutical sciences is another rewarding postgraduate option. See the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences section for information about the PhD and MS degree programs in pharmaceutics.

Highly qualified prospective students may also seek admission to the combined BS in pharmaceutical sciences/MS in pharmaceutics degree program. Successful students will receive the BS degree at the completion of the fourth year and the MS degree at the end of the fifth year.

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy is one of the few colleges in the United States that offers a BS in pharmaceutical sciences degree.

Degree Requirements

To qualify for graduation, a minimum of 129 credit hours of approved courses is required in the curriculum. The curriculum encourages students to take multiple elective courses that allow them to pursue a minor or to develop an area of specialization.

To qualify for entry into the third year, a student must have attained a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or greater at the end of the summer semester of their second year.

Residency Requirements for the BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences Program

Completing the BS in pharmaceutical sciences program requires that students enroll at the University for at least half of the total number of credits required for graduation OR that students enroll at the University for a minimum of four fall and/or spring semesters of full-time (at least 12 credits per semester) study.

BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Students entering in Catalog Years 2017 and beyond (graduating classes of 2021 and beyond) - with general education

Credits/Semester: 18

Total Minimum Credits: 129

BS/MS Program

A BS/MS (in pharmaceutics) program is available for students who complete the requirements of the BS degree in pharmaceutical sciences. Students may finish a non-thesis MS degree with an additional calendar year of full-time study. In order to apply, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 and have a “B-” or better grades in all PH courses that are being used to fulfill the requirements for graduation.

This challenging program may require more than one additional year if course conflicts occur.

For information about the master of science in pharmaceutics (non-thesis), contact the pharmaceutics program director.